Fall is in the air!
It doesn’t seem possible that we are still in the midst of a pandemic. As I write this entry, I am in Washington, DC helping my son clean and repaint his apartment. It's odd being in our nation’s capital so close to election time, wondering how things will turn out in November.
People here wear masks diligently and they move to the side when passing each other on the street. Even the lions at the entrance to the zoo are masked! There are signs asking for peace and racial justice everywhere. We have gone to see the BLACK LIVES MATTER plaza in front of the white house. There’s a feeling of cautious hope in the air.
This lion provides an example for all.
I had thought that by now we’d be busy conducting MoonBees and that our events and presentations would be in full swing. But, alas, we are still doing most of our work via Zoom meetings and WhatsApp correspondence. In the midst of all this craziness, we have managed to remain incredibly busy as we adapt to this new world.
At our last board meeting MCP decided that we’d restart our mask-making effort - though on a smaller scale. We continue to receive requests from non-profits whose finances are stretched thin. We can serve our community by eliminating one expense for these wonderful service organizations - the purchase of masks for staff and clients.
We asked a handful of our sewers and cutters to help and so far, we’ve been able to satisfy the needs of several organizations. I am so grateful to these volunteers. You know who you are and my heartfelt gratitude goes out to all of you. We have made and distributed over 18,000 masks to date.
Our sewing cooperatives in Africa are back at work, though not quite at full tilt. Our donations and grant funding are down because of COVID but we are still able to provide funding for each guild and they in turn are able to get menstrual kits and our menstrual curriculum, to schoolgirls in need. Here are some of the photos they have sent to us.
Ombaka Primary School, outside of Kisumu Kenya - where schoolgirls received kits this month.
The Bandewe School for the Hearing Impaired in Malawi (where we have a sewing cooperative): The girls received MoonCatcher Kits this month.
Kasenyi-Nkumba in the Wakiso District of Uganda where girls sit six feet apart as they receive kits and instruction.
In India, our partners, the Shashi-Kiran Charitable Trust, connected with the Red Cross over the summer to distribute 1,000 MoonCatcher Kits. Recently Red Cross has requested another 2,000. We are so grateful to partner with this well-respected organization, knowing our kits will land in the hands of girls in need.
The Red Cross continues to distribute MoonCatcher Kits with other needed items to girls and women in need.
Our Nigeria project is moving forward and we have been meeting with a Rotary club in the Philippines that also wants to set up and fund a MoonCatcher Guild. We have also been working with an organization that works in Pakistan - via Zoom of course.
One of the most exciting new projects that we have started is sending MoonCatcher menstrual kits to Native American reservations in Arizona. After sending masks to a few tribes along with our MCP brochure I was asked if we could send MoonCatcher Kits as well. We still had some kits that didn’t make it to Malawi with me because of our canceled trip so off they went to the White Mountain Apache Nation. We are now in the process of making more for them with our at-home sewers here and throughout the US.
Union College had a few days of service work before school began this trimester and I was asked to go speak to about 40 students. What a strange situation to address a room of socially distanced kids all wearing masks with me at a microphone speaking through my mask. I struggled to understand their muffled questions and hoped the mike helped them understand me.
We had a mini fundraiser last month. Volunteers dropped off masks for local people who have participated in our “Dining for Dollars” lasagna dinner, along with an appeal. People were so happy to get masks and the money raised (nearly $7,000) helps us keep our tailors in Africa sewing. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen.
Kits produced in August in Malawi.
The light is changing. I find myself struggling for new ways to prepare zucchini.. Pesto fills my freezer and jars of tomato sauce line my pantry shelves. The potatoes and onions are dug and maybe we’ve all mowed our lawns for the last time this year. It’s almost Fall and I think of schoolgirls starting another year of study and all the girls who will do so without having to worry about how to deal with their periods. And, I think of all the people the MoonCatcher Project has in its corner making this happen every day. Gratitude fills my heart.
Be well everyone and be safe. With all its ups and downs it is still a beautiful world.